subverting

verb

present participle of subvert
as in corrupting
to lower in character, dignity, or quality by insisting that she pay me for helping her, she subverted my noble desire to do a good deed without reward

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of subverting These movies are about shocking and surprising the audience by setting up an expectation and then subverting that expectation. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026 Director Wes Craven executes a masterclass in tension, shock, and subverting expectations. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026 Vanessa Rossetto has built her entire artistic practice out of subverting listeners’ expectations. — Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026 His work was often political, with his cartoonish art prints and couture creations subverting racist iconography from American history. — Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 2 June 2026 The Gucci outfits created by then-creative director Alessandro Michele that Lauro sported on stage for his 2020 participation at the Sanremo Music Festival sparked days of online conversation for subverting rigid gender norms and reimagining sacred Italian iconography. — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 26 May 2026 The inaugural season was about subverting expectations. — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026 In the Placer County foothills, one winery is subverting expectations and offering wine tasting experiences at a staggeringly low cost. — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026 Buddy embraces the aesthetic of classic children’s television —complete with catchy songs and familiar tropes — before subverting it with a relentless descent into madness. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subverting
  1. corrupting
  2. degrading
  3. weakening
  4. perverting
  5. destroying
  6. diluting
  7. deteriorating
  8. debauching
Verb
  • Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 31 May 2026
  • An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.
    — George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of corrupting
Verb
  • Overtourism can be highly problematic for cities, threatening to drive housing crises via short-term rentals, straining infrastructure to the breaking point and degrading local culture.
    — Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • The material can power reactions such as oxidizing organic molecules, potentially degrading pollutants, sterilizing surfaces, or enabling photocatalytic chemistry to continue later in the dark.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 July 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • The German lender notes a growing divergence between the nation's weakening fiscal position and its thriving corporate balance sheets.
    — Joseph Wilkins, CNBC, 9 July 2026
  • The effect results in the typical east-to-west trade winds weakening or even sometimes reversing, allowing warmer water from the western Pacific to move eastward.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • The trial collapsed after the journalist was found to have tampered with evidence (he was later convicted of perverting the course of justice).
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 23 June 2026
  • He was also found guilty of perverting the court of justice.
    — StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of perverting
Verb
  • Or tech companies forcing regular people to foot the electricity bills for their environment-destroying data centers!
    — Rebekah Taussig, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Many older interceptor missiles use blast-fragmentation warheads, detonating near the incoming missile and destroying it with high-speed metal fragments.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Running Footwear Sector Paces Up Indeed, many major footwear brands have spent recent years clearing excess inventory through heavy discounting, hurting margins and diluting brand equity.
    — Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Han credits the international team with sharpening his instincts rather than diluting them.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 June 2026
Definition of diluting
Verb
  • Loose-leaf tea also utilizes larger grounds and leaf particles, which prevent the tea from deteriorating as quickly as similar bagged options.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • But Pavarini says the road remains in deteriorating condition despite the HOA signing a roughly $406,000 construction contract.
    — Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 9 July 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Definition of debauching

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subverting
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Cite this Entry

“Subverting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subverting. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of subverting for Spanish Speakers

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